Chickpea Dino Nuggets

Dinosaurs are awesome! Ever since I first watched Jurassic Park, I have loved all things dinosaur. In fact, I had a dinosaur themed birthday last year, thanks to Chris! So when I thought about making vegan nuggets I knew that I had to make them dinosaur shaped, and they turned out so cute and tasty!

These nuggets are chock-full of chickpeas! I used chickpeas, aquafaba (the juice that chickpeas come in) and chickpea flour! I’m letting you know, up front that making the dinosaur shapes is a long and careful process, but for me it was totally worth it! If you want to save time, form chickpea mixture from the recipe into a standard nugget shapes and this recipe can be completed in under 30 minutes. Enjoy!

Chickpea Dino Nuggets

Ingredients

2 14.5 oz cans chickpeas (don’t drain)

1 c chickpea flour

2 tbsp ranch seasoning

1 lemon

1 c chickpea flour

1/2 c vegan buffalo sauce (optional)

[recipe-instructions]
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenhei and juice the lemon.
2. Open the can of chickpeas and preserve 1/2 cup of the aquafaba (the liquid the chickpeas are in) in a bowl. Finish draining the chickpeas, rinse them, and place into a food processor along with lemon juice and ranch seasoning. Blend until smooth.
3. Whip the aquafaba in a bowl using a whisk until foamy. Add to the food processor and blend. Add the chickpea flour to the food processor and blend until fully combined.
4. Place a peace of parchment paper onto the counter and empty the chickpea mixture onto the paper. Using your hands, press the mixture into a large patty about 1/4 inch thick. Lay a second piece of parchment paper over the patty and use your hand to smooth it out. While it is sandwiched between the two pieces of paper flip the patty over. Remove top piece of parchment paper.
5. Arrange cookie cutters on the patty and press down. Pick a cutter on the edge and use a knife to scrape away chickpea mixture between the cutter and the edge (see picture). Use a very thin spatula and pick up the dino while it is still inside the cutter. Slide the dino off of the spatula and place on a parchment lined baking sheet. If dino does not slip out of the cutter on its own use a butter knife to gently push it out of the cutter onto the baking sheet. Repeat the process until all of the dinos are on the baking sheet.
6. Roll extra chickpea mixture into a ball and repeat steps “4” and “5”. (You will need to use a second baking sheet)
7. Bake the dino nuggets for 8 minutes. Carefully flip each dino and bake for an additional 7-8 minutes or until firm and golden.
8. Serve with buffalo sauce.